International
Biden seeks to put abortion battle at center of midterms
AFP | Sebastian Smith
US President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to make a law enshrining nationwide abortion rights his top priority if Democrats win their uphill battle for Congress in looming midterm elections.
Biden’s speech marked a newly intensified push by the White House to lift the party ahead of November 8, when Democrats hope to defy historical trends by retaining their razor-thin control of Congress.
Midterm votes typically see the party in the White House punished, and this year the Democrats face discontent over inflation, an unpopular president, and fierce cultural wars around schools, gender issues and abortion.
In abortion, however, Biden sees a potential game-changer, with anger seething over the Supreme Court’s shock decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling from half a century ago that enshrined access to abortions nationwide.
“Women all across the country, starting in my house, lost a fundamental right,” Biden said in a speech in Washington.
Citing the “chaos and the heartache” for women seeking to terminate pregnancies, Biden said that in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling abortion bans had now been put in place by Republicans in 16 states, home to 26.5 million women.
And he cast the election as setting the stage for a momentous fight next year in the new Congress.
If Republicans win, any attempt to pass a national abortion ban will be stopped at his desk, Biden said. “I’ll veto it.”
If Democrats hold on, the priority would be a national abortion rights law, effectively overturning the Supreme Court ruling.
“The first bill I’ll send to Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade,” Biden said, calling this a “promise.”
“I’ll sign it in January, 50 years after Roe was first decided the law of the land.”
The White House would not say how Biden envisions details of the law and whether he would support any kind of restrictions on abortion.
“It should be something that is decided between a woman and her doctor, her family — not politicians,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Passion yes, but votes?
There’s no questioning the passion swirling around abortion on the political stage.
Roe v. Wade made the procedure legal everywhere, while the Supreme Court decision handed power fully back to individual state governments, prompting Republican leaderships across the country to swiftly move to impose restrictions or bans, in line with years of “right to life” campaigning.
The issue is potent, but there’s no guarantee it will move the needle in three weeks.
Democratic officials, including Biden, have repeatedly suggested the possibility of an electoral uprising led by women.
“The court and extreme Republicans who have spent decades trying to overturn Roe are about to find out,” Biden said. “They ain’t seen nothing yet.”
He referred to a surprisingly strong rejection by Kansas voters in August of a plan to strip abortion rights from the state’s constitution.
“Come this November we’re going to see what happens all over America,” Biden said.
Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans believe abortion should be allowed. While most also think there should be some restrictions, only 13 percent, according to Gallup, support full bans.
The bad news for Democrats, however, is that polls show abortion is far down the list of concerns motivating most voters in the turmoil of post-pandemic US life.
A New York Times/Siena poll out this week showed that of likely voters, 26 percent named the economy as the top issue and 18 percent listed inflation, which is running at the highest rates in four decades.
Abortion scored a lowly five percent of likely voters.
Worryingly for Democrats, the poll also found a stunning shift from women independent voters.
In September, this group backed Democrats over Republicans by 14 points. The latest poll shows them backing Republicans by 18 points.
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US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (R) looks on as US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the student debt relief portal beta test, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC, on October 17, 2022. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
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